Intro- For this project, I deepened my understanding of American public schools by analyzing and researching a school. The goal of this project was to relate it to potential reform approaches for education as a whole. The research of this high school may be relevant for people trying to learn about the area of Newport in regards to education. Also it may be interesting to those who want to improve this school system to see where they have low percentages or to see where they have high percentages.
Rogers High School is located on 15 Wickham Road in Newport, Rhode Island. Rogers High School has the mission of providing a challenging and appropriate education in a safe environment. Their goal for the students after four years of learning is that they will become successful, functioning citizens in society similarly to any other high school. In the early 1800s, Rogers was a private school for males only not until 1873 where it then became public and allowed education for both sexes. In 1957 it opened its current location on Wickham Road. (Rogers High School)
Demographics- It is always imperative to look at a school’s demographics to completely understand it in order to analyze the education of the students. Rogers has 583 students taught by 60 teachers (Rhode Island Department of Education). There is a majority of females at this school at 51% (Rhode Island Department of Education). This high school is public in the Newport School District. The superintendent is Colleen Jermain and the school’s principal is James Nelson (Rhode Island Department of Education). In Newport in general it is important to note that the median family income in 2012 is $53,921 in comparison to Rhode Islands, which is $68,326 (Kids Count). This shows that families in Newport don't make as much money as other families in the rest of Rhode Island. Students that go to Rogers High School live in families that aren’t very well off but are in families that are close to the poverty line.
Student Achievement- Rogers High School is average and even a little below average in comparison to the rest of Rhode Island when looking at assessment scores and student achievement. For example, in the NECAP exams Rogers students scored below average in their 11th grade Math Scores where 25% of students scored Proficient while in comparison to the state, 35% of students as a whole scored Proficient in 11th grade Math (Rhode Island Department of Education). In their SAT scores in Reading, Rogers students are again average with getting a score of 478 (out of 800) which is the exact same score the state got on average (Rhode Island Department of Education). Finally, their AP scores were low at Rogers 32% of students scored at college level mastery while 55% of students in the state as a whole scored at that same college level (Rhode Island Department of Education). Newport as a whole has a graduation rate of 67% in 2013 while the state’s is 80% (Kids Count). Unfortunately, in the area of graduation rates Rogers High School is below average. This does make sense though because students are living in some level of poverty. By living in poverty, it shows that students will have a lower graduation rate than those who aren’t living in poverty. This proves that the majority of the state is not living in poverty and therefore has a pretty high graduation rate at 80%. Overall though, all of this information and statistics show that Rogers High School is a very average school. In some instances and in some assessments Rogers is even below the average of the rest of Rhode Island. Although the Newport School District wants their students to become successful citizens in our society there are lagging on their excellence (Rogers High School). These students are not failing or excelling, they are simply mediocre being below the average.
Teaching- Although Rogers has many students at 538, they also have a lot of faculty as well to give students the best education possible (Rhode Island Department of Education). The student to teacher ratio is 1:10 at Rogers in comparison to the state student to teacher ratio at 1:11 (Rhode Island Department of Education). Again, this aspect of Rogers makes it very average when you look at Rhode Island’s state numbers. There are 0% of teachers with Emergency Certification at Rogers, which is less than the average across the state at 1% of teachers (Rhode Island Department of Education). When students took the SurveryWorks, they ranked their teaches are sometimes challenging them and usually giving clear instructions and lesson plans. The other high schools in the state had similar responses. The teachers should always be doing these sorts of things in order to give the students the best education possible. This is another aspect of Rogers High School that makes it average amongst other high schools in Rhode Island.
Families & Communities Rogers is fairly diverse. Due to racial/ethnic backgrounds, 46% of students are white, 25% are African American, 21% are Hispanic, 4% are multiracial, 2% are Native American, and 1% are Asian. 61% of students at Rogers are eligible for subsidized lunch, which is pretty high in relation to statewide eligibility for lunch at 47% (Rhode Island Department of Education). Again, this is showing how diverse Rogers student population really is, the majority of students are eligible for subsidized lunch. Also, 12% of students receive special education services again showing how diverse the students at Rogers are (Rhode Island Department of Education). For students who do not speak English and have come from various ethnic backgrounds, 5% of students use the bilingual education services that they have at Rogers (Rhode Island Department of Education). In relation to that state of Rhode Island, again Rogers is average in their families and communities.
Safety and Support- Rogers High School is a safe and somewhat supportive school for their students, which is the goal of their mission statement (Rogers High School). They have an 88% attendance rate throughout the year which is a little below average of the state’s rate at 92% (Rhode Island Department of Education). They only had 133 suspensions in 2012-2013 showing that the school is safe (Rhode Island Department of Education). But, some aspects of the school are not as supportive as a high school should be. For example, 21.8% of students dropped out in the year of 2012-2013, which is fairly high in comparison to the states drop out rate at 9.1% (Rhode Island Department of Education). Their graduation rate is lower than the states average as well at 68.2% while the states is at 79.7% (Rhode Island Department of Education). Rogers needs to step up its game in order to support its students better so that they can have a higher graduation rate and a lower drop out rate.
Conclusion- When looking at a school in Newport, one would expect it to be exceptional due to the fact that many rich vacation here. But that is simply not the case. Newport is average when compared to the rest of the state. In some aspects Newport is even below average, mediocre. Rogers again is an ordinary high school in Rhode Island. Students are somewhat successful but some measures need to be taken in order for the high school to be better than average allowing their students to excel. Rogers is a relatively small high school with students living in poverty. The majority of Rogers test scores are about average in comparison to the state but more than half, (60%) of students receive free lunch. This essentially means that those students living in poverty are also excelling. This is definitely an exceptional aspect of this school. Students struggling in their home lives are doing well on their standardized tests. Although they are doing well in comparison to others that are in poverty, Rogers is still an average high school. All of my research of Rogers High School is important to the reader because they can learn which part of the high school that needs improvement as oppose to which parts are successful. It could help parents decide if they want their children to go to this school or not. Also reformers could look at this report and analyze it further seeing how they can improve this school as well as other public high schools in Rhode Island.
Rogers High School
Intro-
For this project, I deepened my understanding of American public schools by analyzing and researching a school. The goal of this project was to relate it to potential reform approaches for education as a whole. The research of this high school may be relevant for people trying to learn about the area of Newport in regards to education. Also it may be interesting to those who want to improve this school system to see where they have low percentages or to see where they have high percentages.
Rogers High School is located on 15 Wickham Road in Newport, Rhode Island. Rogers High School has the mission of providing a challenging and appropriate education in a safe environment. Their goal for the students after four years of learning is that they will become successful, functioning citizens in society similarly to any other high school. In the early 1800s, Rogers was a private school for males only not until 1873 where it then became public and allowed education for both sexes. In 1957 it opened its current location on Wickham Road. (Rogers High School)
Demographics-
It is always imperative to look at a school’s demographics to completely understand it in order to analyze the education of the students. Rogers has 583 students taught by 60 teachers (Rhode Island Department of Education). There is a majority of females at this school at 51% (Rhode Island Department of Education). This high school is public in the Newport School District. The superintendent is Colleen Jermain and the school’s principal is James Nelson (Rhode Island Department of Education). In Newport in general it is important to note that the median family income in 2012 is $53,921 in comparison to Rhode Islands, which is $68,326 (Kids Count). This shows that families in Newport don't make as much money as other families in the rest of Rhode Island. Students that go to Rogers High School live in families that aren’t very well off but are in families that are close to the poverty line.
Student Achievement-
Rogers High School is average and even a little below average in comparison to the rest of Rhode Island when looking at assessment scores and student achievement. For example, in the NECAP exams Rogers students scored below average in their 11th grade Math Scores where 25% of students scored Proficient while in comparison to the state, 35% of students as a whole scored Proficient in 11th grade Math (Rhode Island Department of Education). In their SAT scores in Reading, Rogers students are again average with getting a score of 478 (out of 800) which is the exact same score the state got on average (Rhode Island Department of Education). Finally, their AP scores were low at Rogers 32% of students scored at college level mastery while 55% of students in the state as a whole scored at that same college level (Rhode Island Department of Education). Newport as a whole has a graduation rate of 67% in 2013 while the state’s is 80% (Kids Count). Unfortunately, in the area of graduation rates Rogers High School is below average. This does make sense though because students are living in some level of poverty. By living in poverty, it shows that students will have a lower graduation rate than those who aren’t living in poverty. This proves that the majority of the state is not living in poverty and therefore has a pretty high graduation rate at 80%. Overall though, all of this information and statistics show that Rogers High School is a very average school. In some instances and in some assessments Rogers is even below the average of the rest of Rhode Island. Although the Newport School District wants their students to become successful citizens in our society there are lagging on their excellence (Rogers High School). These students are not failing or excelling, they are simply mediocre being below the average.
Teaching-
Although Rogers has many students at 538, they also have a lot of faculty as well to give students the best education possible (Rhode Island Department of Education). The student to teacher ratio is 1:10 at Rogers in comparison to the state student to teacher ratio at 1:11 (Rhode Island Department of Education). Again, this aspect of Rogers makes it very average when you look at Rhode Island’s state numbers. There are 0% of teachers with Emergency Certification at Rogers, which is less than the average across the state at 1% of teachers (Rhode Island Department of Education). When students took the SurveryWorks, they ranked their teaches are sometimes challenging them and usually giving clear instructions and lesson plans. The other high schools in the state had similar responses. The teachers should always be doing these sorts of things in order to give the students the best education possible. This is another aspect of Rogers High School that makes it average amongst other high schools in Rhode Island.
Families & Communities
Rogers is fairly diverse. Due to racial/ethnic backgrounds, 46% of students are white, 25% are African American, 21% are Hispanic, 4% are multiracial, 2% are Native American, and 1% are Asian. 61% of students at Rogers are eligible for subsidized lunch, which is pretty high in relation to statewide eligibility for lunch at 47% (Rhode Island Department of Education). Again, this is showing how diverse Rogers student population really is, the majority of students are eligible for subsidized lunch. Also, 12% of students receive special education services again showing how diverse the students at Rogers are (Rhode Island Department of Education). For students who do not speak English and have come from various ethnic backgrounds, 5% of students use the bilingual education services that they have at Rogers (Rhode Island Department of Education). In relation to that state of Rhode Island, again Rogers is average in their families and communities.
Safety and Support-
Rogers High School is a safe and somewhat supportive school for their students, which is the goal of their mission statement (Rogers High School). They have an 88% attendance rate throughout the year which is a little below average of the state’s rate at 92% (Rhode Island Department of Education). They only had 133 suspensions in 2012-2013 showing that the school is safe (Rhode Island Department of Education). But, some aspects of the school are not as supportive as a high school should be. For example, 21.8% of students dropped out in the year of 2012-2013, which is fairly high in comparison to the states drop out rate at 9.1% (Rhode Island Department of Education). Their graduation rate is lower than the states average as well at 68.2% while the states is at 79.7% (Rhode Island Department of Education). Rogers needs to step up its game in order to support its students better so that they can have a higher graduation rate and a lower drop out rate.
Conclusion-
When looking at a school in Newport, one would expect it to be exceptional due to the fact that many rich vacation here. But that is simply not the case. Newport is average when compared to the rest of the state. In some aspects Newport is even below average, mediocre. Rogers again is an ordinary high school in Rhode Island. Students are somewhat successful but some measures need to be taken in order for the high school to be better than average allowing their students to excel. Rogers is a relatively small high school with students living in poverty. The majority of Rogers test scores are about average in comparison to the state but more than half, (60%) of students receive free lunch. This essentially means that those students living in poverty are also excelling. This is definitely an exceptional aspect of this school. Students struggling in their home lives are doing well on their standardized tests. Although they are doing well in comparison to others that are in poverty, Rogers is still an average high school. All of my research of Rogers High School is important to the reader because they can learn which part of the high school that needs improvement as oppose to which parts are successful. It could help parents decide if they want their children to go to this school or not. Also reformers could look at this report and analyze it further seeing how they can improve this school as well as other public high schools in Rhode Island.
Work Cited-
Kids Count. (n.d.). Profile of Newport, Rhode Island. Retrieved from http://www.rikidscount.org/matriarch/documents/Newport2014.pdf
Rogers High School. (n.d.). Schoolwires, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.npsri.net/Domain/8
Rhode Island Department of Education. (n.d.). Infoworks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting. Retrieved from http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/rogers-high-school